chapter one,

She couldn't help but stare at the clock at the front of the classroom, watching as the seconds slowly ticked by. She didn't hate Geography, in fact she quite enjoyed it. Her teacher was known for her humility, but Mrs. Matheson could also be quite slow in the afternoon. She noticed her classmates acting the same way, agitated and anticipating the last few seconds before the bell rang.

"Can you finish the last few questions for next week, please?" asked the older woman as the shrill sound of the bell sounded throughout the small room. People mumbled in agreement as they stood up, things already packed, and left the classroom, some muttering a small thanks before leaving.

As Marian made her way into the hall, she noticed a strange boy walking into the classroom opposite Mrs. Matheson's. She'd seen him before. He was a nice boy—a kind yet damaged soul—though she'd never personally met him in this life. He was dating Elena Gilbert, she wasn't entirely sure if they were still together. She hadn't seen him around when she had been to the Gilbert's recently.

Inside the classroom, she could see the back of her friend's head and the dark skin of Bonnie Bennett. She stepped towards it, curious as to what the three of them were doing so secretly. Or maybe she shouldn't look. Her mother had always told her not to worry herself about other's business, and she'd always prided herself on knowing the appropriate time to pry, and this didn't seem like it. Yet, Marian found the way Stefan Salvatore looked around for prying eyes before entering the room rather odd.

She dodged the passers-by as they made their way out of the school, reaching the other side of the hall with ease. Yet something didn't feel right to her. Maybe it was because of her unnecessary prying—whatever the three were doing wasn't any of her business—but she felt a sort of dread build up in her, as if her subconscious was trying to warn her of something.

Gaining her composure, Marian turned to the door and opened it.

"I'll call you later when I find—"

"—Annie?" Jeremy interrupted, seeing her enter the room. She almost didn't notice Stefan and Bonnie watching her as she walked towards Jeremy, pulling his hand up. There was a large gash in the middle of it.

"What are you doing?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Elena's missing," Stefan answered shortly. "Bonnie's helping us find her."

"Well you can't do this alone," Jeremy said, looking back toward Stefan as Marian held his hand in hers. He was confused—to say the least—as to how she didn't seem afraid in the slightest. He didn't know that she knew about the supernatural, or that she was supernatural. Only three people in this town did: Stefan, Bonnie and her Grams. Marian hadn't told her mother; she was afraid of how she would react.

"He's not. Let's go." Marian turned around suddenly, seeing a man with black hair walk in behind her to the classroom. Someone she hadn't seen in a very long time; Damon Salvatore. "Well hello there, pretty girl," he greeted with a tight-lipped smile, looking straight at her. She gulped.

"You're coming with me?" Stefan interrupted, looking at his brother after seeing the uncomfortable look on Marian's face. He'd tried for the past year to keep the two away from each other. He knew that his brother wouldn't have reacted well if he saw her.

"It's Elena," Damon responded simply, almost as if it was obvious. Stefan left with his brother, leaving Marian with Bonnie and Jeremy.

"What the hell is going on?" she demanded. Jeremy opened his mouth to respond when she spoke again, looking worriedly at Bonnie. "Bonnie," she said, frowning deeply. "Your nose is bleeding. Are you okay?" These things usually only happened to her, never Bonnie.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied nonchalantly, wiping her nose with her sleeve. She then frowned. "I don't understand why it took so much out of me."

"Maybe you've been practicing too much?" Marian suggested.

"Wait, you know about," Jeremy looked around, despite them being alone in the classroom, "the supernatural too?" he asked.

Marian smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm a witch," she said simply.

"A super weak one," Bonnie added.

"Shut up."

...

Marian had stayed with Bonnie and Jeremy as they continued searching for Elena, worried about her friend. She had driven the three of them to Jeremy's house, where they now all sat around in his room. Now, she lay on her back on his bed holding her phone above her face as she used her maps to try and find where Elena could be.

"I found something," she said. Jeremy wasted no time in snatching her phone to see what she'd found. She'd always hated it when he took her phone—which he did surprisingly often—didn't mention it, she knew he was desperate to find his sister.

"There's nothing for miles except for this old house," Jeremy announced, showing Bonnie Marian's phone. She nodded.

"Did you send it to Stefan?" she asked.

"Yeah," he responded, handing Marian back her phone. "I hate sitting here, waiting like this." He sat next to his friend who placed a comforting arm on his knee. She knew how he felt; useless, unable to do anything but wait for things to get better. It was the price he paid for being human.

"Hey, she's gonna be fine," Bonnie reassured him.

Marian nodded. "Stefan won't let anything happen to her. We'll get her back, Jer."

"You don't know that," said Jeremy.

"No, I don't," Bonnie agreed. She stayed still for a moment before frowning. Then, without warning, she stood up from the floor and rushed over to her handbag, taking out the grimoire and sitting on the other side of Jeremy.

"What are you doing?" Marian asked.

"There's something else I want to try," Bonnie replied.

"I don't get it," said Jeremy.

"I need a candle. Grab Elena's hairbrush."

"Okay, yeah," Jeremy mumbled, standing up to find a candle for her.

"I'll get the brush," Marian suggested as she walked into the bathroom, pulling open the cabinet and retrieving the clean hairbrush. Elena's room was neat, too neat for her liking.

"What's all this stuff for?" Jeremy asked.

"I know it's crazy," Bonnie began. "But I might be able to get her a message." She crumpled up the piece of paper she'd written on hand and held it in her hand above the candle. As she closed her eyes, her nose started to bleed.

"Bonnie? Bonnie!" Jeremy exclaimed, trying to stop her before she hurt herself more.

"Bon?" said Marian, alarmed. She wondered why Bonnie was experiencing such strain from her magic. The paper burned before disappearing.

"Bonnie," Jeremy said softly. She smiled, blacking out. She fell backwards, unconscious. "Bonnie! Annie, what do we do?" He was shocked, horrified.

"Jer, calm down. We can't help if we're panicking," she said softly.

"She's gonna be okay, right?"

Marian didn't respond at first, wrapping her arms around him comfortingly. She didn't know if she would be, but she hoped she would.

"Yeah," she said finally. "She'll be alright."

...

Later that night after waiting with Jeremy for Bonnie to wake up and Elena to safely return, Marian finally went home. She couldn't wait to finally relax after her stressful day. She wasn't sure what she'd tell her mother about arriving home so late. She'd missed their weekly movie night and would be chastised heavily.

She tried her hardest to enter the house silently hoping that Carrie would already be in bed, only to notice that the lights were all on. As she reached the kitchen, Marian found an angry Carrie Whitman sitting at the table.

"Where on earth have you been?" she asked expectantly.

"I was with Jeremy," she said, hoping to use him as an excuse. It wasn't a full lie. "You know how he's been struggling with school and all since ... his parents died." She hated saying it.

Carrie didn't look impressed. "And you stayed until ten o'clock?"

Marian quickly wracked her brain for an excuse. "We got really side-tracked. And then Bonnie came over and we lost track of the time," she rushed.

Her mother sighed. "Okay," she said. "Okay, well you're grounded—"

"What!" Marian exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down!" she demanded. "We have a guest, and I don't want you disturbing him."

"A guest? Since when?"

"Since this afternoon, which you would've known if you'd been here."

"Who is he?" Marian asked.

"His name is Elijah," Marian tensed, "Smith. He'll be with us for a few weeks," Carrie explained. "Now, as for your punishment, you're grounded for a week."

"A week? It was one night," she complained.

"Maybe that'll teach you to not ditch me on movie night," Carrie said.

"Right, whatever. I'm going for a shower. Night," Marian said, quickly kissing her mother on the cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too," Carrie said. "Don't forget there's a man in the house, so don't go walking around in a towel." Marian scowled at her mother. "Night."

Marian quickly walked up stairs, and despite her hope for a relaxing shower, quickly washed herself and got changed into her pyjamas. She brushed her teeth before grabbing her brush and running it through her frizzy hair. Opening the bathroom door, she glanced down the hallway towards the spare room before exiting and tiptoeing to her bedroom—she didn't want this stranger to see her in her pyjamas.

She'd almost made it, her hand on the doorknob, when she heard the door to the spare room creak open. The man stepped out and gasped slightly. "Marian?"

She turned sharply, coming face-to-face with not Elijah Smith, but Elijah Mikaelson, her uncle.

part i:

tvd s2, e8, ""

wc: